Fence-post.



No. 807,139. PATENI'ED DEC. 12, 1905. s. H. SUMMERSOALES.

v FENCE POST.

APPLICATION FILED rmzs. 190a.

INl/E/V TOR JZzmaeZflDEzmmersgaZe' UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 12, 1905.

Application filed February 23, 1905. Serial No. 246,869.

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, SAMUEL HENRY SUMMER- scALns, a subject of the King of Great Britain, and a resident of Winnipeg, in the Province of Manitoba and Dominion of Canada, have invented a new and Improved Fence-Post, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

My invention relates to a supporting device which although capable of general use is especially adapted for use as a fence-post. Among the other uses to which it may be put are the supporting of walls, floors, ceilings, roof materials, and railroad-rails; but for convenience I will describe my inventionas applied to the support of fences only.

Many attempts have been made to secure uninfiammable and undecayable fence-posts of iron, steel, cement, concrete,artificial stone, glass, and the like; but the devices heretofore constructed have been open to numerous objections. There is usually difficulty in putting a long wire or fence on a series of the posts, and when a long length is attached it is frequently the case that it is found not to be properly stretched in all parts. In some cases the fence or wire has to be made of a special construction in order to accommodate the structure of the posts, and certain features by which it is attached to the posts have to be located at invariable distances apart. It has also been impossible to tighten or slacken the wire or fence without taking it off the posts, and .the supporting devices for the Wires have also been clamping devices, whereby if one was broken or had to be removed the wire was free to fall away from the post.

The principal objects of the present invention are to provide a support of non-inflammable material which is not subject to decay on account of the action of the elements and which will avoid the difliculties mentioned above, at the same time providing a structure which can be used in numerous other ways to support articles of various'characters, as indicated above.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a fence provided with posts constructed in accordance with the principle of my invention. Fig. 2

tion.

3 of Fig. 1 on an enlarged scale. Fig. 4. is a sectional view on the line 4 4 of Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a central longitudinal sectional view of a post constructed in accordance with the principle of my invention, showing a modification. Fig. 6 is asimilar view showing another modification. Fig. 7 is a perspective view of a rail for a fence or building constructed for use with the form shown in Fig. 6; and Fig. 8 is a view similar to Fig. 6, showing another modification.

The form of support which I have illustrated in Figs. 1, 2, 3, and 4 comprises a standard or, having a web a and flanges a projecting at substantially right angles from the web and located at the edges thereof. These flanges are provided with some convenient means for supporting fencebars or rails for walls, roofs, ceilings, and the like. In the form of my invention illustrated this means comprises a series of notches a located in the edges of the flanges and spaced apart. The notches on the two flanges on the same side of the standard are preferably located opposite each other, and consequently a fence-bar as, for example, bcan be passed through the two notches in one side of each standard,'so that the flanges of the standard will support all the bars.

For preventing the displacement of the fence bars or rails from the notches I provide the web of the standard with perforations a,

and through each of these perforations a fastening means is passed. In the form shown in the figures mentioned this fastening means comprises a hook 0, passing through the perforations a and engaging the fence-bar b. A nut 0 is connected with the other end of the hook and securely holds it in position. It will be noticed that with this construction any damage happening to the hook 0 will not necessarily cause the fence-bar to be lowered or removed from the notches, the notches them- .selves constituting the entire support for the bar. It will also be seen that the wires can be readily inserted and the hooks tightened either before or after the supports or posts are set up, as desired; furthermore, that the hooks can be used either side up and that they act merely to hold the bars in the notches and not to in any manner support them.

In the form shown in Fig. 5 the notches are shown at a and are inclined for the purpose of receiving the tongue cl of a rail cl, the tongue being inclined in the same manner as the notches. In this case the tongue is pref- TlC erably provided with a perforation d and a fastening device 6 passed through the perforation. The form shown in Figs. 6 and 7 is similar to that shown in Fig. 5, but the tongue of the T-rail is perpendicular to the body of the rail instead of inclined. The notches a are consequently made straight like the notches 60 but are preferably made deeper.

In the form shown in Fig. 8 a T-rail f is provided with perforations f in one of its flanges, through which a fastening device'y, having a head g, is adapted to pass. This standard has notches 0 like those shown in Fig. 6, and the tongue of the rail rests in them. The several posts or standards may, if the device is used for a fence, be secured together by means of tie-bars it, running diagonally across the fence from the top of one post to the bottom of another.

It will be seen that by constructing standards or supports for various purposes in accordance with the principle of my invention, either in the forms illustrated or not, a device is procured by means of which the thing to be supported is held in the notches provided in the flanges of the support itself and that the fastening device can act merely as a fastening device and not as a support. This overcomes one of the principal objections to many of the forms of fences heretofore known. Also the fastening device can be used to tighten a fence-wire after it is put in place in the notches. This is brought about by the fact that the two notches in which the rail, bar, or wire of the fence bears are located ata distance apart, while the tightening device is located between them. It will also be seen that, while useful for the attachment of wire, the same form of post can be used for the attachment of various kinds of material, including those having a continuous flat surface, in place of the flanges of the T-rails so long as they have continuous projections for insertion in the notches and perforations for the fastening devices. Therefore it can be used for building construction as well as for fence construction without departing even from the exact forms illustrated. It can also be used as a cross-tie for track-rails and for many other purposes which it is not necessary to mention.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent- 1. A support, comprising a standard having an H-shaped cross-section, the web thereof being provided with perforations and with flanges having notches, and a fastening device passing through said perforations and extending to a position beyond a point directly between two of said notches, said fastening device being adjustable toward and from the web.

2. The combination of a standard provided with a lateral notch, a rail provided with a tongue fitting in the notch, and means for securing the rail to the standard.

3. The combination of a standard provided with spaced flanges having notches in their edges, a rail having a tongue fitting in the notches of the flanges, and means for securing the rail to the standard.

4. The combination of a standard provided with spaced flanges having notches in their edges, a rail having a tongue fitting in the notches of the flanges, the tongue of the rail being apertured, and a hook secured to the standard and engaging the aperture in the tongue of the rail.

5. The combination of an apertured standard having flanges at its longitudinal edges, said flanges being provided with inclined notches in its edges, a rail provided with an inclined and apertured tongue fitting in the notches of the flanges, and a hook-bolt secured in an aperture of the standard andengaging the aperture in the tongue of the rail.

In testimony whereoflhave signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

SAMUEL HENRY SUMMERSOALES. l/Vitnesses:

FRED. H. STEWART, W. MINFORD. 

